BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The No. 2 seed Gardner-Webb men's soccer team earned a spot in the Big South Conference Championship Match on Sunday evening, defeating No. 6 seed USC Upstate 3-0 at Greene-Harbison Stadium.
The victory sends the Runnin' Bulldogs into the conference final for the third consecutive season, where they will host No. 5 seed Longwood on Saturday with the conference championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on the line. Gardner-Webb will host the Big South Championship match for the first time since 2011, marking the program's first opportunity to host the title game since the conference transitioned to a higher-seed hosting format in 2012.
Gardner-Webb wasted little time asserting itself on its home pitch, taking an early lead in the opening half. Tim Kreuzpeintner found the back of the net in the ninth minute, scoring an unassisted goal to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 advantage. Gardner-Webb continued to apply pressure throughout the half, out-shooting the Spartans 8-5 and carrying its one-goal lead into the intermission.
The Bulldogs continued to press after halftime and found another gear in the final 45 minutes. After a scoreless opening stretch of the second half, Kreuzpeintner struck again in the 73rd minute, finishing off a scoring opportunity assisted by Jacobo Gonzalez and Nicolas Triguero to extend the advantage to 2-0.Gardner-Webb added an insurance goal in the 83rd minute when Triguero found the back of the net off an assist from goalkeeper Oliver Weng.
Kreuzpeintner finished with a brace and now has 10 on the season while Triguero had two goal contributions with a score and assist. Weng had four saves as part of a clean sheet to go with his assist.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will return to Greene-Harbison Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 14, when they host Longwood. Longwood upset No. 1 seed High Point on Sunday evening. Gardner-Webb will look to return to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons.